As the direct descendants of those aboriginal peoples who have inhabited, shared, sustained, and been sustained by the Stein Valley for tens-of-thousands of years down to the present, our authority in this watershed is inescapable. The responsibility we bear for protection of the Stein has been passed to us by our ancestors from our earliest memories, and should not be lightly dismissed. We, ourselves, have never dismissed this obligation: we have never entered an agreement with any nation or government which would abrogate our authority and responsibility in the Stein watershed.

It is our forebearers who developed the sustainable patterns of resource management in the Stein which leave the valley in its unmarred state today. Our tread has been deliberately light, but the spiritual and physical "footprints" of our peoples are evident for all to see throughout this watershed. To us, the valley is like the pages of a book upon which thousands of years of our history are written. There is no other record in the Stein Valley except our own, and we can never willingly abandon our commitment there.

In sharp contrast to the relative silence of millennia of uninterrupted native habitation of the Stein are the shrill new claims which have arisen in the past few decades. With seemingly insatiable appetite, newcomers now clamor for our valley's legacy. Forests which for centuries have grown strong alongside our cultures will feel the hot bite of chainsaws if these people have their say.

We have waited patiently for those who now make these claims to consult with us about our homeland, and finally when it seemed they would never come to us, we felt we had to go to them. It was with misgiving that we entered into the hearings of the provincial Wilderness Advisory Committee in January 1986, but we made our concerns plain from the start. We said to the committee that if they made recommendations at the Stein which were fair to the native people, the provincial government would ignore them.

Sadly, time has proved us right. When the Wilderness Committee eventually acknowledged the contribution the Stein Valley continues to make to the spiritual and cultural integrity of our people, and recommended that no road be built into the area without the blessings of our people, the provincial government turned the proverbial blind eye and deaf ear. In contrast, the federal government accepted the overall land claims package of the Nlaka'pxm Nation, which includes the Stein Valley on November 28, 1986.

We can wait no longer for the other governments to come to their senses. For us to exist as a people and a culture we need to preserve certain of our lands, the only rightful place we have on this earth, in their natural state. We must continue to exercise our responsibility to protect these lands as we have since time began.

Our position, which will never waver, is to maintain the forests of the Stein Valley in their natural state forever; to share our valley with other life forms equally; but also to share the valley with those people who can bring to the Stein a respect for the natural life there similar to that taught us by our ancestors.

With the help of our elders we pledge to strengthen "Stein Rediscovery," the youth program located deep in the Stein's heart and in our own hearts as well. This creative wilderness experience for young people re-acquaints native youth with their own roots while cultivating essential understanding in non-native youth, and is a primary ingredient in the continuance of our cultures. Stein Rediscovery builds on the long tradition among our peoples of following Stein Valley pathways to spiritual maturity.

We will seek and form alliances with other native nations in the defence of the Stein watershed and in opposition to the common thread of aboriginal injustice which we suffer along with indigenous peoples everywhere.

We will further strengthen the alliances we maintain with those non-native peoples who can respect and share our values and perspectives, and with these people we will continue to enhance the ages-old system of trails which extends the length and breadth of the Stein Valley and first felt the feet of our forefathers. In this way we can extend the hospitality of our valley to all peoples, and re-create in others the awareness of and respect for the natural world which is our birthright.

Finally, and importantly, under the cooperative authority of our two bands we will maintain the Stein Valley as a wilderness in perpetuity for the enjoyment and enlightenment of all peoples and the enhancement of the slender life-thread on this planet.

In so doing we are but honoring those ancestors whose legacy to us is the Stein Wilderness, and in our turn we will extend this same opportunity, legacy, and responsibility to generations yet unborn.

Mt. Currie Chief Leonard Andrew

Lytton Chief Ruby Dunstan